United States · self-catered
Apartments in Boston
Self-catered apartments and vacation rentals in Boston, United States. Full kitchens, more space than a hotel room, and weekly rates on longer stays. Expedia surfaces apartments across Boston's neighborhoods.
- ✓Full-kitchen apartments and aparthotels across Boston
- ✓Per-neighborhood filtering for the Boston area you want
- ✓Weekly and monthly rates on longer-stay bookings
- ✓Powered by Expedia
What things cost in Boston
Fares are $2.40 on the subway and $1.70 on buses, with day and week passes sold at the machines that pay off after about five rides. Museum admission clusters between $22 and $30, though the ICA, Gardner and MFA each have free or $5 windows worth planning around. A North End pasta dinner runs $25 to $35. The Freedom Trail, the Common and USS Constitution cost nothing.
What to eat in Boston
Hanover Street in the North End is where the argument lives: Mike's Pastry against Modern Pastry for cannoli, filled to order at the latter. Neptune Oyster does the hot buttered lobster roll worth queueing for and takes no reservations. Chowder here is thick and cream-based, never tomato. North Shore roast beef sandwiches, ordered three-way with sauce, mayonnaise and cheese, are a local thing that never travelled.
What first-timers get wrong in Boston
Subway rides cost $2.40 and buses $1.70, and the Silver Line SL1 from Logan into South Station is free inbound. Do not rent a car for a city stay, because the street plan predates grids and parking is punishing. Boston pedestrians cross against lights constantly and drivers expect it. The T's last trains leave around 12:30am, hours before bars close, so settle the trip home first.
Boston after dark
Massachusetts banned happy-hour drink discounts in 1984 and never restored them, so nobody advertises cheap pitchers anywhere. Last call is 2am at best, but the T stops running around 12:30, which strands more visitors than anything else in this city. Fenway and the Seaport pull the after-work crowd, while Allston and Cambridge's Central Square carry the student and live-music end, cheaper and much less polished.
Boston with kids, realistically
Boston Children's Museum on Fort Point Channel is aimed squarely at under-eights and runs a heavily discounted Thursday evening hour that fills quickly. The New England Aquarium's four-storey central ocean tank spirals, so a stroller can climb the whole thing. Public Garden swan boats operate only from mid-April to Labor Day. Older children get far more from the Freedom Trail than younger ones, who mostly get sore feet.
When to go to Boston
| Best months for apartments | Avg daily high | Rain days |
|---|---|---|
| October | 18°C / 64°F | 9 days |
| May | 20°C / 68°F | 10 days |
| September | 23°C / 73°F | 10 days |
The month to avoid is January — around 4°C (39°F) with roughly 11 rain days. Prices and crowds track the weather here: October is the sweet spot, January the month most people skip.
Pack for peak season: Layers — t-shirts under a light jacket or sweater, A packable rain shell or compact umbrella earns its space, Comfortable walking shoes — every guide on this site assumes you'll use them.
Where to base yourself in Boston
- Back Bay — Tree-lined brownstones, Newbury Street shopping, the Esplanade riverfront.
- North End — Italian quarter — bakeries, restaurants, Paul Revere’s house and the Old North Church.
- Cambridge — Harvard Square across the river — bookstores, coffee shops, the Charles riverbank.